


Dreaming In Shades of Blue

by curiously_me



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Dreams, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2017-12-27 15:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiously_me/pseuds/curiously_me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Chuck Hansen is able to sleep deeply enough to dream, he dreams in shades of blue.  (hinted Chuck/Raleigh)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreaming In Shades of Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Jaegercon Bingo Card (Dreams)](http://sly-hostetter.dreamwidth.org/160852.html)
> 
> Not beta'ed.

When Chuck Hansen is able to sleep deeply enough to dream, he dreams in shades of blue.

It was his mother's favorite color and sometimes, if it's quiet in the Shatterdome and he has a minute to himself, Chuck will remember the pale blue sundress she had worn on his first day of school. The dress was light, flowing around her legs as they walked down the street to the school and Chuck had kept a fold of the fabric grasped tightly in his small hand.

"Are you worried, hun?" Angela asked him, placing a gentle hand on his head.

Chuck had fiercely shaken his head in denial. He wasn't scared of anything, he was a big boy now and wasn't at all scared of going to school all by himself. But, just in case, he had kept his hold on his mother's skirt until they were at the school's front gates.

He doesn't remember anything more about that first day of school, but the sight of his mother as she stood in the bright sunlight in the schoolyard would stay with him forever.

He dreams in bright, luminescent blues and on those nights he has to be woken up from the endless screaming. Chuck had only once had those dreams when his father wasn't near to wake him and he had screamed himself hoarse in his sleep, unable to speak during class the next day.

Those dreams are always the fuzziest, the most difficult to remember in the light of day. He is thankful for that small mercy his brain affords him, but Chuck sometimes finds himself wondering what, if anything, the dreams mean. He knows that he will die inside a Jaeger, fighting the Kaiju until his last breath, and he is not afraid. Chuck Hansen is ready and willing to give his life for the cause. He is a solder. He is not afraid to die.

But, he never forgets to give Max a kiss on the head before getting suited up and heading for the launch bay where Striker is waiting for him. It's not for luck, but he doesn't forget.

He rarely dreams of blue the shade of robins egg or the clear skies above. Chuck doesn't often have the chance to look up at the sky, too worried about what could come from beneath his feet if he isn't ever watchful and on guard for anything that might be out of place.

When his dreams are the color of the sky, Chuck is flying. It's such a different feeling from being inside his Jaeger or in a transport helicopter, but he feels so very free as he soars above the waves and through the fluffy white clouds above. He wonders if this is what dying will feel like, if this is what he has to look forward to when his luck finally runs out. He tries not to wonder if he will see his mom when he dies.

The dark, royal blues of his father's dress blues are always on the edge of his vision, dreaming or waking. Chuck has worked every day of his young life to be good enough to stand next to his old man. He has studied longer, fought harder, and given up so much more than anyone else his age, just to have the chance to fight alongside his dad.

Except that Herc never seems to see how hard he works to be a good person, to be strong enough and fast enough to save everyone. During the first year at the Ranger Academy, Chuck thinks that Herc has forgotten he even has a son. But, then Max shows up, courtesy of one Marshall Pentecost acting as courier and the Aussie pilot-in-training decides that his dad is just an old fool that doesn't know what to say when he loves someone.

Chuck doesn't realize just how right he is, until their first Drift as a father-son pilot team and he is completely blindsided by how much his dad loves him and of how proud the older man is. Not a single member of the Jaeger crew or LOCCENT staff mention the tears Chuck can't hide during that first, amazing Drift.

His favorite dreams are filled with electric blue, so bright and vibrant that Chuck feels more alive than ever. It is the newest shade of blue to invade his dreams, but it became his favorite after the first dream.

The first night he'd slept after Operation Pitfall, Chuck dreamed in electric blue.

That was the first night he slept in Raleigh's arms and he hasn't wanted to sleep anywhere else since then.


End file.
